[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 11, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H5479-H5480]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              WHERE ARE THE BENGHAZI KILLERS 1 YEAR LATER?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker:

       In Libya, al Qaeda cousins, as I call them, the Ansar al-
     Sharia, claims responsibility for the murder of our U.S. 
     Ambassador and three others. It's no coincidence that these 
     two attacks occurred nearly at the same time, and they both 
     occurred on September 11.
       In the past, the United States has always held and went 
     after those that were responsible for this type of conduct. 
     In 1998, when the Kenyan Embassy was attacked and Americans 
     were killed, we responded. Of course, we responded on 
     September 11. We responded after the first World Trade Center 
     bombing. Then, in 1996, when 19 American soldiers were 
     murdered in Saudi Arabia, we responded.
       Madam Speaker, the United States must always respond to 
     terrorists, and we must let them be reminded again and again 
     we will respond in an appropriate manner, as we did on 
     September 11. We must respond today, and we must respond 
     tomorrow. I am encouraged that the President will soon 
     address the Nation on what our response will be.
       We must hold those responsible personally accountable 
     because we must let people understand that they need to leave 
     us alone. That is what the message needs to be. We must have 
     justice in these terrorist attacks by these individuals 
     against Americans because, Madam Speaker, justice is what we 
     do.

  Mr. Speaker, that was the speech I gave on this House floor 1 year 
ago. September 12, 2013, was when it was given. But it has been 1 year 
since the attack in Benghazi, Libya; and we still have no answers.
  Today, as we remember those who were murdered 12 years ago on 
September 11, 2001, in New York, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, 
young and old, from countries all over the world, we should also 
remember those four Americans murdered 1 year ago in Benghazi, Libya. 
We went after those first 9/11 killers--as we should. America had 
resolve, as it usually has had in our history. But the Benghazi killers 
run free today.
  Mr. Speaker, it is ironic that the greatest power that has ever 
existed, with all our vast resources of military, CIA intelligence, the 
NSA intelligence, the FBI, we can't capture some killers who killed 
Americans in Benghazi, Libya. When the media can go and talk to them 
and have them on television, we can't even find them, capture them, and 
bring them back to justice. It's been a year. What does that tell the 
families, what does it tell Americans, when we haven't been able to 
accomplish this capture of terrorists? We know that Ansar al-Sharia was 
involved. I said that the day after this murder occurred last year on 
this House floor.
  So today, I filed the Ansar al-Sharia Terrorist Designation Act of 
2013. It says, ``Ansar al-Sharia is a terrorist organization, and we 
must use all resources available to go after these killers.'' We must 
label them as terrorists and deal with them appropriately.
  We're not sure about United States policy today in the Middle East. 
We don't know what the current U.S. policy is about Americans killed 
overseas. All we get is a lot of words. Even the White House Press 
Secretary said, ``Well, Benghazi was a long time ago.'' It seems like 
more is said than done in the Benghazi episode.
  Our enemies continue to test us because they no longer fear us, Mr. 
Speaker. The world no longer knows where America stands when we are 
attacked, either at home or abroad, not our allies, not our enemies, 
and not American citizens.
  The President is concerned about Syrians being killed by Syrians. I 
wish he was just as concerned about Americans being murdered by 
terrorists in Benghazi, Libya. The administration needs to go after 
these terrorists by any means necessary and bring them to justice and 
restore our credibility with the American people, because justice is 
what we do in this country.
  And that's just the way it is.

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